London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A man who slashed his throat with a kitchen knife in a busy supermarket had recently sent his wife and child to Pakistan because of financial worries, it was claimed today.

Witnesses watched in horror as the man, named locally as 35-year-old Imtiaz Hussain, picked up a blade from a cutlery display before cutting his throat in front of a pregnant woman and a young child in the Tesco store in Slough.

Shoppers told how he muttered "I'm going to kill myself" seconds before taking the serrated bread-knife and slitting his throat just before 10am yesterday. He remains in a serious condition in hospital.

Local residents said Mr Hussain had been renting a bungalow at the back of a semi-detached property with his wife, Nabia Sadiq, and their three-year-old daughter Ishaal. In late October he was said to have sent them back to Pakistan while he looked for a new place to live, before moving out of the home because of difficulties paying the rent.

Shabnoor Chaudhary, 49, who rented out the bungalow to the family, said: "He was always very happy and friendly. I am so shocked. It does not sound like something he would do at all."

Her daughter Humaira, 17, added: "They were a really lovely family. The wife would stay at home every day and look after the daughter.

"He left in early November. I think he said he was staying with a friend. He was a very happy person. I hope he's going to be ok."

A Tesco spokesman said the shop's first-aiders saved the man's life by stemming the blood loss while paramedics sped to the scene.

He said: "It was very distressing for the staff and customers who were there. We are making sure we are taking care of them.

"Our first aiders are trained to a very high level and are only used to dealing with minor injuries rather than something of this severity.

"The man is in hospital so I'm sure they did a great job."

Shopper Michelle James, 18, said: "I just saw all the blood. It was cordoned off and covered up by police."